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The North Wing at Combermere Abbey

Combermere Abbey has been letting out very smart holiday cottages for a couple of decades. Now it also offers an upmarket b&b option, with two rooms in the recently restored (and very grand) North Wing of the main house.

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Rooms from

£132per night

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Occupancy

Rooms

Adults

Children

Ages of children

Airport

Location

9/10

The Shropshire/Cheshire setting is bucolic and beautiful, on the shores of a 143-acre lake that’s a Site of Special Scientific Interest thanks to its large heronry and popularity with over-wintering birds. The best way to get there is by car but if travelling by train, the nearest station is five miles away at Whitchurch, on the Manchester-Shrewsbury line.

Style & character

9/10

The building – a Tudor manor house overlaid with a Gothic façade – has a fascinating history, and the renovation of the formerly dilapidated North Wing has respected that while at the same time bringing everything up to 21st-century standards of comfort.

The feeling is luxurious, contemporary country house, with natural Edward Bulmer paints on the walls, plush fabrics from designer Nina Campbell (who worked with owner Sarah Callander Beckett on the interiors), and furnishings that mix inherited pieces with items sourced from local auction houses.

Service & facilities

8/10

The North Wing has a resident house manager, Stephan, who welcomes you with tea and cake on arrival, cooks breakfast in the morning and in between times is your go-to source of knowledge on good places to eat nearby and what to do around the estate. There are lovely walks (well signposted) around the grounds and a glorious walled garden, complete with all-weather tennis court, croquet lawn, beautiful rose beds and the world’s only maze made out of fruit trees.

Parking

Tennis court

Wi-Fi

Rooms

9/10

The North Wing has just two bedrooms, most desirable of which is The Salamanca, large and full of light, with calm shades of blue and a high half-tester bed. Its Gothic arched windows look out over the knot garden and lake, and the huge bathroom has a freestanding bath in the centre of the room so you can gaze out over swans gliding across the water while you soak. Next door, the smaller, darker and cosier Bhurtpore has oak panelled walls, coral-coloured accents and a compact shower room.

Food & drink

7/10

Come down in the morning and you find juices, yoghurts, fruits, pastries and cereals laid out in the dining room, to start you off while Stephan prepares whatever version of a full English you requested the night before. The delicious preserves on the table are home-made from estate-grown fruits and the apple juice comes from the trees in the maze. For dinner, good local pubs include the Bhurtpore Arms in Aston, Cholmondeley Arms and Combermere Arms.

Value for money

8/10

The Salamanca costs £175 per night midweek and £190 per night at weekends. The Bhurtpore costs £140 midweek and £155 at weekends. Breakfast included. Free Wi-Fi.

Access for guests with disabilities?

The North Wing is not suitable, but some of Combermere’s 10 holiday cottages have ground-floor bedrooms, including one with a fully adapted bathroom.

Family-friendly?

Children under 16 aren’t allowed in The North Wing but the cottages are more family-friendly.